Tuesday, May 1, 2012

A Happy Ending for Pecan Shells in My Garden

When we lived near Havana (pronounced Hay-Vanna), Florida, surrounded by acres of pecan groves, I never gave much thought to what happens to those shells that pecans (pronounced Pee-Cans) give up for the sake of pecan pie eaters and fanciers of other sweet Southern delights like pralines. Now I know.

They become mulch for consumers of another sort--the gardening kind. We had a couple of pickup truckloads delivered right to our yard a few weeks ago. The guy selling the stuff had an ad on the Pensacola Craigslist site. He said he has a contract with the Renfroe Pecan Company to pick up all of their spent shells. Way to go, pecan-shell guy! That's using your noggin. Find a company with a useful waste product, help them dispose of it, and make some money on the deal. He told us that we got the last two loads of the stuff. His girlfriend was real happy to see it go away as she can park her car once again in their driveway. I'm happy, she's happy, pecan-shell guy must be happy now that she's happy, and (best of all) the plants are happy. It's just a happy ending all around.

18 comments:

I just love happy endings! What a great way for Pecan Guy to make a buck and you to have a wonderful mulch! Now my question, do the squirrels dig in them? That would be my fear. But may keep them out of other planters. LOL...

Hi, Skeeter! You know, we have more of a problem with Peanut the cat digging in the stuff than squirrels. There's probably not much nut left for the squirrels to bother with, but you know how cats can be with lots of loose stuff to push around:)

Are you talking about praline, Tomz? I think it's pronounced Pray-lean. It's a heavenly candy, but I'm afraid it won't do much for keeping someone lean. The other pronunciations, by the way, are not your typical dictionary version. They're more of the local flavor.

Thanks, Tina! We only had enough of the pecan mulch to barely cover a couple of beds in the front yard. The tropical bed is in back by the pool. Maybe next year we can order more mulch for that bed. I love walking around in the stuff but definitely not barefoot. It's very crunchy! Thanks for the info on the lupine. It's a beautiful plant.

TB, in Florida there is no organic mulch that withstands the test of time. Heat and moisture do their dirty deed, and it's done dirt cheap--at considerable expense to the gardener, I'm afraid. I always have to add at least a top dressing of mulch every spring. At least the pecan mulch looks pretty and makes a nice sound when you walk on it!

Thank you for another nice tip for mulch. They look much better than cardboard boxes (^_^) I'm thinking of what is a substitute for pecan shells here. Anyway it's good to know everything ended happily!

Thanks, Matt, for taking the time to visit and comment. I'm hoping that Glenn will put his ad on Craigslist again this next season. Pecans should be ready for harvest soon, so I will be watching for that ad. We definitely want more shells for the landscape.

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